Following the second closed-door working session of the Third Extraordinary Islamic Summit, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister, held a press conference here tonight to brief the press on the progress of the conference.
Iyad bin Ameen Madani, the Minister of Culture and Information, and Akmaluddin Ihsan Uglu, the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Conference, were also present at the press conference, which was held at the Press Center at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah.
"Yesterday, the OIC foreign ministers reviewed the papers to be submitted to the Summit, paving the way for every leader to become as transparent as possible, not only to introduce the problems of the Islamic world but also to contribute to crystallizing a vision for future that would improve the current situation", Prince Saud told reporters.
He said the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques noticed what the leaders were looking for.
"Most of the leaders were given an opportunity to address the conference today, with the rest having their turn tomorrow", he added.
He said: "Everyone is in agreement to fight terrorism, confront extremism, insist on moderation and cooperation among Muslims, refrain from complaining to others and focus on what could be done by Muslim countries to face such problems and find solutions for them."
Prince Saud said all the members agreed that time and the venue of the meeting were strictly and successfully chosen.
"Tomorrow, we will listen to those who did not speak, then review the papers submitted, followed by the final communiqué, the ten-year plan and the Makkah Declaration", he said, adding that reports were also submitted by the Secretariat General of OIC on the scholars' meeting and VIP meeting.
Prince Saud Al-Faisal assured the press that there were no difference in views, no reservation on some of the final communiqué's phrases and nobody abstained from taking part.
Akmaluddin told the reporters that the Summit formed a significant turning point in the march and the history of the OIC.
He said the 36-year old Organization was now entering a new phase during the reign of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
"It is indeed an extraordinary meeting, not in the procedural meaning but in the real meaning; taking place at a ripe time and in Muslim's holiest place", he commented.
He lauded the new spirit of the leaders in this event.
In response to a question on the definition of terrorism in terms of national resistance, Prince Saud Al-Faisal said the Summit gave a balanced view for both. National resistance could not allow the killing of the innocents.
He said Islam had strict ethics for war, citing the embargo of killing the elders, women, children and the innocents.
"According to such noble principles, practices and ethics, Islam spread after the death of Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him)", Prince Saud said.
He said Islam will spread again through good examples of tolerance and amicability rather than violence and bloodshed.
Prince Saud told the press that this was an unprecedented Islamic conference for two reasons: First it was well-prepared, citing the scholars and VIP meetings preceding the conference. Second, it focused on the ten-year plan which gave a comprehensive package of solutions to the problems of the Islamic nation and left ad hoc problems for the ordinary summits to tackle.
In response to a question on the mechanism and financing of the plan, he said: "The mechanism is the OIC leadership and the Secretariat General and donations will come from the member states." He said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be the biggest donor.
He said all member states, even the poor, will donate to this fund annually.
On changing the Organization's name, Uglu said this matter was not the business of this extraordinary meeting.
Asked whether the ten-year plan was a Marshal-like plan, Prince Saud said: "As the time, circumstances and the place are different, we are dealing with Uglu plan rather than Marshal plan."
"The plan admits the differences between Islamic sects. You are not allowed to brand anybody, with whom you have sectarian differences, as an infidel", he told reporters.
In response to a question, Prince Saud said that wishing to unite was not enough for reaching Islamic unity and solving the nation's problems. Serious actions were much needed, he said, adding that if an Islamic member states had committed a foolish act that dealt a blow to its own entity and to the entire Islamic nation, then it might have no right to ask for help as it had not consulted its colleagues before acting, he said.
Asked about the vision of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques on Islamic solidarity, Prince Saud said the ten-year plan was the answer for all challenges ahead.
Commenting on the departure of some delegates just after the opening session, Prince Saud explained that they had previous engagements.
"What made departure easy for them, is that we reached consensus on all issues at the foreign ministers meeting", Prince Saud said, ignoring other speculations.
He cited that President Muhammed Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, who missed the opening day because of elections in his country, will arrive tomorrow and address the Summit.
Asked about the criteria of measuring the commitment of member states to the ten-year plan, he said the plan, authored by the Kingdom and others, had stated such criteria.
He said cross-trade, for instance, should reach 10 percent among the Islamic countries.
